Armor is a critical element of the game, providing resistance fighters with increased Hit Points, additional utility slots, and eventually armor that reduces the magnitude of incoming damage.
All XCOM soldiers begin with a set of basic Kevlar Armor, which confers no benefits beyond allowing a single Utility Item to be equipped. Advanced armor sets (Predator, Warden) require completing Plated Armor and Powered Armor research projects correspondingly and then purchasing the researched armor at the Engineering. These purchases are squad-based, meaning that these armor sets will be available to all XCOM soldiers after the purchase.
Specialized or unique armor sets will be available as Proving Ground projects after completing the aforementioned armor research projects or after conducting Alien bosses autopsies (Viper King Autopsy, Berserker Queen Autopsy, Archon King Autopsy). Each set of a specialized armor suit (Spider Suit, Wraith Suit, E.X.O. Suit, W.A.R. Suit) requires completing a Proving Ground project, 1 project per 1 armor suit set.
Resistance factions soldiers - Reapers, Skirmishers, and Templars - can wear only their faction-specific armor sets. These armor sets share characteristics with Kevlar, Predator, and Warden armor, but have fewer Utility Item slots (Reapers have 1 locked Utility Item slot by default, which can be unlocked only by acquiring a randomly available Tactical Rigging ability). Skirmishers armor sets have built-in Grapple ability. [ XCOM 2: War of the Chosen DLC ]
SPARK units are limited to SPARK armor sets which have slightly different characteristics than XCOM/Resistance armor sets, but totally lack Utility Item slots. [ Shen's Last Gift DLC ]
Armor stats[]
Health[]
- Main article: Hit Points (XCOM 2)
All armor sets increase a soldier's Health value.
Armor points[]
- Main article: Armor Points (XCOM 2)
Armor points is a concept separate from Health and wearable armors, and represents a soldier's damage reduction capability. Only select models increase the Armor value.
XCOM Armor[]
Besides the general characteristics listed below, the division of XCOM Armor into sub-classes is mostly superficial. The only instance when it matters what sub-class an armor set/suit belongs to is having completed an armor breakthrough research, which increases the HP bonus of a certain armor sub-class (Light or Heavy) by +1.
Light Armor[]
Light Armor grants the wearer extra mobility and dodge, focusing less on Health and more on the movement flexibility of the wearer. All Light Armor shares the ability to deploy a Grappling Hook to reach elevated surfaces, and in extreme cases will allow the user to pass through solid objects with Wraith.
Medium Armor[]
Medium armor is general-purpose armor which balances mobility with protection, allowing for an additional Utility Item to be equipped, while Icarus Armor is able to quickly shift positions and vault over objects and walls.
Heavy Armor[]
Heavy Armor focuses on the survivability of the wearer, increasing both Health and Armor points, and each possesses the ability to mount a single Heavy Weapon.
| XCOM Armor | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Armor | Armor class | Hit Points | Armor Points | Mobility | Dodge | Utility Item slots | Heavy Weapon slot | Abilities, properties | DLC | Research requirement | Quantity |
| Kevlar Armor | Basic | 1 | ∞ | ||||||||
| Spider Suit | Light | +4 | +1 | +20 | 1 | Grapple | Spider Suit Project | 1 per project | |||
| Wraith Suit | +6 | +2 | +25 | Grapple, Wraith | Wraith Suit Project | 1 per project | |||||
| Serpent Suit | +5 | +1 | +35 | Grapple, Frostbite, Panic Vipers | Alien Hunters | Viper King Autopsy | 1 | ||||
| Serpent Armor | +7 | +2 | +40 | Powered Armor | 1 (replaces the Serpent Suit) | ||||||
| Predator Armor | Medium | +4 | 2 | Plated Armor | ∞ | ||||||
| Warden Armor | +6 | +1 | Powered Armor | ∞ | |||||||
| Icarus Armor | +7 | +1 | +1 | Vault, Icarus Jump, Panic Archons | Alien Hunters | Archon King Autopsy | 1 | ||||
| E.X.O. Suit | Heavy | +5 | +1 | 1 | + | E.X.O. Suit Project | 1 per project | ||||
| W.A.R. Suit | +6 | +2 | Shieldwall | W.A.R. Suit Project | 1 per project | ||||||
| R.A.G.E. Suit | +6 | +1 | +1 | Rage Strike, Panic Mutons and Berserkers | Alien Hunters | Berserker Queen Autopsy | 1 | ||||
| R.A.G.E. Armor | +7 | +2 | +1 | Powered Armor | 1 (replaces the R.A.G.E. Suit) | ||||||
- Grenadier ability Blast Padding provides +1 Armor Point and reduces Explosion damage by 66%.
Vests[]
| Vests | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vest | Hit Points | Armor Points | Effect | Requirement | |
 |
+1 | Hybrid Materials | |||
 |
+2 | Deals 2-4 damage to enemy melee attackers and also inflicts  Burning if they aren't immune to fire.
|
Chryssalid Autopsy | ||
 |
+2 | +1 | Experimental Armor | ||
 |
+2 | Grants Immunity to Burning,  Acid Burn and  Poisoned status effects.
| |||
 |
+2 | Regenerate 2 HP per turn (up to 8 HP per Mission). | |||
- Only one Vest can be equipped onto a soldier at a time.
- The Reinforced Underlay upgrade provides an additional +1 HP to all Vests.
Resistance Armor[]
Reapers, Skirmishers, and Templars each have their own faction-specific set of armor, which share characteristics with Kevlar, Predator, and Warden armor minus a few Utility Item slots (while Skirmishers have Grapple ability by default). They are only available in the XCOM 2: War of the Chosen expansion.
| Resistance Armor | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Health | Armor | Mobility | Dodge | Utility Slots | ||
| Reapers | Skirmishers, Templars | ||||||
| Resistance Armor | 0* | 1* | |||||
| Plated Resistance Armor | +4 | ||||||
| Powered Resistance Armor | +6 | +1 | |||||
- * Tactical Rigging ability, randomly available to Reapers and Skirmishers as an XCOM skill (costs 11 Ability Points), provides +1 additional Utility Item slot.
SPARK Armor[]
SPARK Armor is exclusive to Shen's Last Gift DLC, and can only be equipped on SPARK units. It does not confer any particular attributes or abilities, but each iteration will grant additional Health, mobility, and an extra point of Armor.
| SPARK Armor | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Health | Armor | Mobility | Dodge | Utility Slots | |
| SPARK Armor | n/a | |||||
| Reinforced Frame | +3 | +1 | +1 | |||
| Annodized Chassis | +5 | +2 | +2 | |||
- SPARK ability Bulwark provides +1 armor.
- SPARK ability Sacrifice provides +2 armor and +20 defense every 3 turns.
Trivia[]
Legacy Armor[]
Resistance Warrior Kevlar Armor, Improvised Field Armor, Enhanced Field Plate, and Experimental Power Armor are alternate appearances for standard armor that share identical characteristics; they are included in the Resistance Warrior Pack and Tactical Legacy Pack.
